Wulfram woke up early, in spite of how late he had went to bed. He could smell breakfast already waiting for him, a maid opening the curtains and doors of his room to let in the fresh air. Voices drifted in from the next-door garden, and he sat up when he recognized Dani’s voice, sounding just a little cranky.

  “I don’t think we need to be watched over here. There’s a guard at the door, and don’t think I didn’t see you lurking in that tree Gull! Did you even bother to sleep?”

  He smiled and let out a soft chuckle. He’d find out who Gull was soon enough, but it wouldn’t be polite to go calling on a lady so early in the morning. So instead he climbed out of bed, and headed into the bathroom to get washed up before eating his own breakfast. Today was going to be a busy day, one of the first items on the agenda was removing the bracelets from himself and Dani.

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to remove them, but his father had been right. A king needed a clear head, and the bracelets weren’t helping him with that. He looked down at it, touching the blue gem lightly. As long as she was safe in the palace, it shouldn’t matter if they were connected with the bracelets. She would be safe, and he would have time to talk to her and convince her to stay. Although things were likely to be complicated by some of the others that had arrived in the palace. Alastar would want to speak to her too today, and he had already been warned that her adopted father and uncle had arrived at the palace as well.

  Wulfram frowned thoughtfully as he pulled on his clothes for the day, staring off into space. Reshi didn’t like him, he was sure of it. He was protective of Dani, and perhaps thought that Wulfram was just out to ‘sow his wild oats’ as they called it. “She’d have my head.”

  “Who would have your head?” His manservant asked politely as he entered, the maid making herself scarce. The older man had been his servant for as long as Wulfram could remember, guiding him through his days in the palace and keeping track of all the classes, and later on meetings, that he had to attend.

  “Princess Daniella.” Wulfram smiled at the older man. “It’s good to see you again Christopher, how is your family?”

  “Quite well sir. I have your agenda for the day if you would care to hear it while eating your breakfast?”

  “Of course. I imagine I have a lot to catch up on after my trip.” Wulfram sat down at the small table, listening to the voices that drifted over the garden wall. He recognized Dani’s voice, the man was no doubt her uncle, one of the women had to be Therija, and the other must be Gull.

  “Indeed Sir. The high mage is expecting you and Lady Daniella in one hour to attempt the removal of the bracelets. Afterwards you are both expected to meet with the Hesiodos delegation to ascertain whether or not Lady Daniella is their missing princess. Should the results of that meeting prove she is their princess, negotiations will proceed in regards to the arranged marriage between the two of you. This afternoon you will be meeting with the Council in regards to The Tangle and the tunnels beneath the city.”

  “And how has things been going with the Tangle and tunnels?” Wulfram took a sip of his milk, relaxing back in his chair. Sleeping on a real bed had done wonders for him, he hadn’t been this relaxed in at least a week.

  “Difficultly.” Christopher said dryly. “The information from Lady Daniella has been useful, and Madame Alodia has helped us hire some guides.”

  “But?” Wulfram raised an eyebrow.

  “But the denizens of the Tangle are reluctant to speak with delegations from the palace. There are various groups that seek to either hinder our progress or extort funds from researchers traveling in areas they claim as their own. The guard presence in the Tangle has been increased, but patrolling is, by all reports, difficult. There is good reason that it is called the Tangle.”

  “I see. Am I correct in guessing that attempts to map the place are also going poorly?” Wulfram thought of the small portion of it he had seen, with its narrow streets, dead-ends, hidden tunnels and makeshift rooftop roads. The people of the Tangle had built both up and down, digging into buildings that had been half buried in the landslide, or building on top of rubble left over from it. Often times one crumbling building would be cannibalized to make a new one, and it wasn’t uncommon to hear of buildings falling in on themselves. He felt a twinge in his back as he remembered falling through one himself.

  “Indeed. But our teams persevere. There will be a rough map to review at the meeting this afternoon, along with a proposal for a new layout based on what the area was like before the landslide.” Christopher pulled two folded sheets from his book, setting them on the table next to Wulfram. “However, I have acquired a couple of copies for you to review prior to this afternoon.”

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  “Good man.” Wulfram smiled as he unfolded the maps, looking at the mess the Tangle currently was, his breakfast forgotten in favor of curiosity. There were numerous buildings marked as unsafe for habitation, along with notes that many of those buildings were currently occupied. There were also symbols denoting access into the tunnel systems, some that Dani had told them about, others that they had found in their explorations. To say the whole area of the city was a mess was an understatement, the map gave him a headache just looking at it trying to trace the lines of streets beneath and apparently along, Widows Cliff.

  He shook his head, setting the current map down, and opening up the suggested map. It got rid of most of the winding streets, and many of the small houses that filled the area, replacing them with larger houses, marketplaces, and parks. Wulfram frowned, blindly reaching for his cup of milk and taking a sip. They couldn’t have talked to Dani about this, there weren’t anywhere near enough houses for the people of the Tangle. “Who worked on this map?”

  “Lord Roderick, Senior Scholar Vitomir, and the court cartographers.” Christopher moved Wulfram’s plate as the prince set his glass back down, nearly in the eggs he had barely touched.

  “Has it been presented to Lady Daniella yet?” Wulfram had a feeling he knew the answer to the question already. Lord Roderick would view Dani as beneath him, and probably assume she was stupid, and Senior Scholar Vitomir wouldn’t think of speaking to her. The court cartographers would simply follow directions, it was unlikely they’d stick their necks out suggesting that they discuss the plans for the Tangle with Lady Daniella.

  “Not to my knowledge Sir, no.”

  Wulfram sighed and folded up the maps. If his sense of time was correct, they still had time before they had to report to Archmage Balariz. There were things he’d rather talk about with Dani, but this was important, he didn’t want her to be caught unaware in the council meeting this afternoon. “Well then I suppose I should fix that.”

  He picked up both maps and headed out into the hall. He paused when he saw Reshi stepping out of Dani’s room, one of his eyes swollen black and blue. Wulfram’s eyebrows rose as he met Reshi’s gaze, the bigger man striding right to him. “Yer ‘ighness. A word.”

  There was the barest attempt at respect in his tone, which surprised Wulfram more than the black eye. In fact, it was almost a request! “Of course, please come in.” Wulfram stepped back into his room. “Have you eaten?”

  “Aye. But I need ta talk ta ya.” Reshi followed him into the room, taking a brief glance around before closing the door. “Ya just came back with the Hesiodos folks, din’ ye?”

  “I did.” Wulfram said cautiously. What did Reshi want with the Hesiodos delegation? There was no way he could know that they suspected Dani was one of their own, was there?

  “I need ta keep Dani away from ‘em. Preferably I’d get ‘er out of the city ‘fore they see her. Can ya help?”

  Wulfram stared at Reshi, did he know? But then why hide her from them? “Given a good reason. Why do you wish to get her away from them? They believe she is their princess. If true, she’d be treated very well. If the arranged marriage goes through, she wouldn’t even be leaving the city.”

  “Arranged marriage!” Reshi’s face turned red, and he clenched his fists, fire sparking in his unswollen eye. He grit his teeth together so hard Wulfram could hear it, and he winced a little before talking in a much quieter voice, a tight lid on his anger. “If they know, I need ta get ‘er outta the city. I ain’t gunna risk ‘er goin’ the same way ‘er momma did.”

  “What do you know about how her mother died?” Wulfram considered the drinks cabinet for a moment, before deciding it was far too early for alcohol. Instead he poured Reshi a glass of milk, and accepted his own from Christopher.

  Reshi took the glass with a frown, staring into the white liquid for a moment before downing the whole thing. Only when he was done did he speak, his voice soft. “I found ‘er. Was a miserable night, I was out huntin’ not too far from Astash when I heard the fightin’. Bad business.” He shook his head, the lines on his face deepening as he remembered the night. “Weren’t nothin’ I coulda done ‘cept die with ‘em, but then I saw this little girl, runnin’ from one of the carriages towards the woods. Can’t’ve been much more’n a babe. Ain’t sure ‘ow they missed ‘er. Too busy with the adults I s’pose.”

  “You were there? You saw the attack?” Wulfram took a drink from his own glass, only for politeness sake, before handing it back to Christopher. “Did you see who did it?”

  “Naw, was too dark. But I ain’t no fool either. It were either our people, or hers. Ya seem ta have taken a shine to ‘er, but already she been attacked by yer people. I ain’t going to risk her bein’ attacked by the Hesiodos folks. So I gotta get her outta the city.”

  Wulfram shook his head. “No. She’s safer here, especially in the palace.”

  “She ain’t! Especially if folks know who she is. Someone wanted all of that caravan dead, an’ if they know they failed, they’ll come after ‘er again.” Reshi slammed his glass on the table, fists clenching once more.

  “I don’t believe the Hesiodos people mean her harm, but even if they did, they could track her again if she left the city. And then what? All she would have by way of protection is you. Do you think you can take on a group of Hesiodos soldiers and their shaman? Or whatever else they send at you? Here she has the full force of Cresenvasht at her back.”

  “If they can track ‘er, why ain’t they come fer ‘er sooner?”

  “I’m not sure they could have tracked her before. But they can now, I’ve seen proof. Reshi, they’re not here to take her away from you, they’re not here to hurt her. They helped me reach her when she was in danger, even though I couldn’t do much. I swear to you, we will do everything we can to keep her safe.” Wulfram set a hand on Reshi’s shoulder. It felt like a rock, the man was so tense.

  But he nodded, even though he didn’t look happy about it. “Ye best keep that promise then. If anythin’ happens to ‘er....” He glanced at Christopher, and didn’t finish the sentence.